Chapter 18.260
VARIANCES
Sections:
18.260.010 Pre-application review.
18.260.030 Application contents.
18.260.050 Expiration and extension.
18.260.010 Pre-application review.
(1) An application for one or more variances subject to Type I review is not subject to pre-application review, unless filed concurrent with an application that is subject to pre-application review.
(2) An application for one or more variances subject to Type II review is subject to pre-application review under LCMC 18.30.090.
(3) An applicant for pre-application review for a variance shall submit the requisite fee and four copies of the following information unless otherwise provided by the city clerk/treasurer:
(a) A completed form provided by the city clerk/treasurer for that purpose;
(b) The name, mailing address, and telephone number of the owner(s), engineer, surveyor, planner, and/or attorney and the person with whom official contact should be made regarding the application;
(c) A preliminary plan at a scale of no more than one inch equals 200 feet, with north arrow, date, graphic scale and information relevant to the variance, such as existing and proposed lots, tracts, easements, rights-of-way, development, access, parking, maneuvering and structures on the site; existing and proposed natural features on the site, including vegetation, topography and grades; existing and proposed utilities (water, sewer, drainage, fire hydrants); and existing lots, tracts, easements, rights-of-way and structures abutting the site; provided, information about off-site structures and other features may be approximate if such information is not in the public record. The applicant shall provide one copy of the plan reduced to fit on an eight-and-one-half-inch by 11-inch page. Principal features of the plan shall be dimensioned;
(d) A written summary of the proposed variance(s) and of facts and evidence based on which the variance(s) can be approved. [Ord. 2006-17 § 1, 2006.]
18.260.020 Review process.
(1) Review of a technically complete application for variance of up to 10 percent of the numerical standards for the following: setbacks, buffers, building heights, landscaping, lot coverage and lot dimensions, but not including lot area or density, is subject to a Type I process. See LCMC 18.30.080.
(2) Review of a technically complete application for all other variances greater than 10 percent are subject to a Type II process. See LCMC 18.30.090.
(3) An application for a variance(s) necessarily associated with another application(s) under the La Center Municipal Code shall be combined with the associated application(s) for processing. The variance application shall be subject to the highest number review procedure applicable to the combined applications.
(4) If an application for a variance(s) is approved and an application(s) subject to an equal or higher number review procedure type is subsequently filed, the decision approving the variance may be altered for good cause by the decision on the merits of the subsequent application(s).
(5) An application for a variance(s) proposed as a post-decision action shall be subject to the post-decision review procedures of LCMC 18.30.150. [Ord. 2006-17 § 1, 2006.]
18.260.030 Application contents.
An applicant for a variance(s) shall submit the requisite fee and the information required by LCMC 18.30.050, except as otherwise provided therein. [Ord. 2006-17 § 1, 2006.]
18.260.040 Approval criteria.
The review authority shall approve or approve with conditions an application for a variance if he or she finds the applicant has sustained the burden of proving that:
(1) Unusual circumstances or conditions, such as size, shape or topography of a site, or the location of an existing legal development apply to the property and/or the intended use that do not generally apply to other properties in the vicinity or zone. An unusual circumstance could also include another obligation under a different municipal code section or a state or federal requirement;
(2) The unusual circumstance cannot be a result of actions taken by the applicant;
(3) The variance request is necessary for the preservation of a substantial property right of the applicant which is possessed by the owners of other properties in the vicinity or zone;
(4) The variance request is the least necessary to relieve the unusual circumstances or conditions identified in subsection (1) of this section;
(5) Any impacts resulting from the variance are mitigated to the extent practical; and
(6) The granting of the variance will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare, or injurious to the property or improvements in the vicinity and zone in which the property is situated.
Variances may not be used to change the required residential density or to allow uses that would not otherwise be permitted in a zone. [Ord. 2021-03 § 2 (Exh. A), 2021; Ord. 2006-17 § 1, 2006.]
18.260.050 Expiration and extension.
A decision approving a variance expires and can be extended as provided in LCMC 18.30.140. [Ord. 2006-17 § 1, 2006.]